1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a media cassette for a printing apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable media cassette that is attached to a printing apparatus, on which media discharged from the printing apparatus can be loaded without damaging the media cassette and interrupting the conveying of the media.
2. Description of the Related Art
A portable printing apparatus such as a small size photo-printer has a portable cassette. The portable cassette, on which printable media is placed, is typically detachable from the printing apparatus. The media cassette is manufactured so that the printing media will not escape from the cassette when the cassette is separated from the printing apparatus.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional media cassette. As shown in FIG. 1, media M is placed in a loading case 1, and a cover 4 is coupled to an upper portion of the loading case 1. The cover 4 is divided into a first cover 2 and a second cover 3. The first cover 2 is rotatably coupled to the second cover 3. When the media cassette 10 is separated from the printing apparatus, the second cover 2 is closed so that the media M will not escape from the media cassette 10. As shown in FIG. 2, when the media cassette 10 is mounted on the printing apparatus 20, the second cover 2 rotates to open a front edge portion of the loading case 1. Thus, a pickup roller 5 can access and pick up the media M. However, since the second cover 2 is open when mounted on the printing apparatus 20, the media cassette 10 can be damaged.
Additionally, when the conventional media cassette 10 is mounted in the printing apparatus 20, a back surface of the second cover 2 is exposed outwardly as shown in FIG. 2. A printed medium is then discharged from the media cassette 10. However, the second cover 2 is generally manufactured by a plastic injection molding method. Therefore, the rear surface thereof includes a structure such as a strengthening rib for reinforcement or an ejection pin mark of the mold, thereby degrading the appearance of the media cassette 10. Also, since the printing apparatus 20 has a media conveying path in a ‘U’ shape, the strengthening rib or the ejection pin mark may interrupt the smooth discharging operation of the printed media.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved media cassette manufactured so that it will not be damaged when installed into the printing apparatus, is improved aesthetically, and does not interrupt conveying of the media.